The Passport Pup

We packed up early this morning to sail across San Francisco Bay on Dad’s boat. Destination: Angel Island! It’s a small island in the middle of San Francisco bay. During the civil war it was used as an immigration center and a place to quarantine ships arriving from foreign countries. They inspected the ships and the passengers to make sure they weren’t carrying any diseases. Some people had to stay on the island for weeks – or months. I was worried they would check me for fleas or ticks but Dad said they don’t do those inspections anymore. Now it’s just a great place to hike, bike, picnic and swim. And we did it all!

We docked the boat on the north side of the island and headed off for a 6-mile hike around the island. We could see all of San Francisco! And boy was it a hot day. Luckily, some of that famous San Francisco fog rolled in under the Golden Gate Bridge in the afternoon to cool us down.

While hiking, we saw a deer up on the hill. I don’t know how he got out there, on an island in the middle of the bay! But Mom says deer can swim. I’m not so sure about that, but we did see two seals swimming by us on our sail home.

The wind was really blowing during the sail back home and the boat was leaning so far to the side that the edge of the boat was in the water. (Dad calls that “keeling”. Mom calls it “screaming”!) Speaking of screaming, Mom and Jack did plenty of that. I stayed tucked inside Mom’s pocket. Dad just laughed! He’s a good sailor so I wasn’t worried. As we pulled into the harbor I sat on the deck and barked at the seagulls. Dad and Jack docked the boat. Boy is sailing fun!

I had my first bath in more than 15 years tonight. Mom thought it was time. I was pretty stinky! Fifteen years of dust and dirt from around the world and I’m about to make my big premiere! Mom says the grime was part of my charm but she soaked me up with soap and warm water anyway.

She patted me dry with a big bath towel and blow dried my fur. I liked that part a lot. Mom says I sparkle and that now I’m more charming than ever. Woof!

Woof! Wherever I go, I’m happy to make new friends, try out the local language and taste interesting foods. You can read about my adventures in the blog below.

Although I’m just a dog, I travel the world and I have my very own passport. I collect passport stamps and photos from all the places I visit. Just last year I went to Argentina, Vietnam, Cambodia, France and Scotland (that’s a lot of hours in an airplane!). My dream is to fill every page in my passport!

What about you? Do you love a great adventure? Do you love to travel? Now you can take me with you and we can explore together!